Colin Coates writes: Originally from Peterlee in north England, I located to Saltaire in 2011 and became interested with the fascinating history of the Village and its people. Following a meeting of the Saltaire History Club I was inspired and motivated to research the story of Saltaire during World War One. In 2019, I left Saltaire to live in Hervey Bay, Australia. However, my research continues.

Using information from local Rolls of Honour, online resources such as Ancestry.com and CWCG, and newspaper cuttings from the Shipley Times, I gradually built up a valuable database to help us understand what it was like to live in Saltaire during the Great War. I've also been helped by relatives of the soldiers, who have contributed extra information and photographs.

There are four zones to The Saltaire Story: the WW1 Roll of Honour, the Saltaire Diaries, a snippets section, and additional biographies.

The header of WW1: The Saltaire Story, features the photo of Tom Thompson Middleton Rutherford, courtesy of Deborah Burns, grandniece of Tom Rutherford. Tom exemplifies the sacrifice made by so many during the war. Tom died 20 July 1918, aged nineteen.

“He was a good soldier, most trustworthy, and faithful in the discharge of his duty; one whom all respected. We were exceedingly sorry when it was reported that he had been killed at his post while working his machine gun.”

Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have questions or can contribute information.

Colin Coates

 

The Saltaire WW1 Roll Of Honour

There are, in total, the names of 611 male soldiers and 1 female who served in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.

482 men survived; 1 woman survived, 127 men died, and two (Knight, Arthur George and Thompson, Arthur Harold) are unaccounted for.

Figures recalculated on 30 May 2022.

Each name links to details on each soldier's life.

WW1 Roll of Honour

 

WW1 Saltaire Diary

The WW1 Saltaire Diary chronicles news and events in Saltaire following the declaration of war, through the war years, and beyond. Between 1914 - 1918, the diary is updated weekly. It is now updated monthly. The primary source of this information is the Shipley Times newspaper which was published every Friday.

Where possible, I have used the exact wording from the newspaper. Where appropriate, there are links to soldiers' biographies and the snippets section.

1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921

WW1 Saltaire Snippets

WW1 Snippets feature articles and facts about the War, and life in Saltaire during the War.

WW1 Saltaire Snippets

Additional biographies

The Saltaire Diary refers to people in the news during the war. Using the same tools used to research the WW1 Roll of Honour, additional people will be researched and their mini-biographies posted to add depth to Saltaire's WW1 story.

Additional biographies